Assesment of financial literacy among youth in Wakiso District

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the understanding of financial literacy among the youth in Wakiso District. The objectives of the study were to examine the understanding of financial literacy; ascertain the lapses in financial literacy, and determine the strategies that can be recommended for the improvement of financial literacy among the youths in Wakiso district. The components of financial literacy that were relevant to this study include knowledge on savings, money management, investments, debt management, insurance, and retirement planning. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted where quantitative data was collected with the aid of a structured, self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 384 youths in Wakiso district using convenience sampling. The data collected was captured and analyzed for descriptive statistics using SPSS. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the youths in Wakiso district are knowledgeable about money management, savings, and investments. However, according to respondents, lapses exist in the areas of debt management, insurance, and planning for retirement for instance not being able to comfortably manage debts acquired, not considering different debt policies from various financial institutions before acquiring debt, not paying debts on time, not setting money aside to purchase insurance services, not using insurance services for unexpected circumstances, inadequate knowledge about different insurance products from various insurance service providers, need to worry about life after retirement, inadequate deposits in banks for retirement, lack of a clear vision of how life will be in retirement, not setting goals on how much they will need for retirement. The study recommends that youth in Wakiso district should; take advantage of different debt policies from various financial institutions before acquiring debt, consider comfortably borrowing from a financial institution and manage debts acquired well. The study also recommends that the youth should allocate money for insurance services, insure against unexpected circumstances, be aware of the different insurance products, worry about their retirement, contribute to a registered retirement benefits scheme, have a clear vision of how life will be in retirement and set goals on how much they will need to save for retirement.